Sonoma County ( ) is a
county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
located in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. As of the
2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its
seat of government
The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority".
In most countries, the nation's Capital city, capital is also seat of its governmen ...
and largest city is
Santa Rosa.
Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma
Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the
San Jose-
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
-
Oakland
Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
, CA
Combined Statistical Area. It is the northernmost county in the nine-county
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
region.
In California's
Wine Country
Wine Country is a region of California, in the northern San Francisco Bay Area, known worldwide as a premier wine-growing region. The region is famed for its wineries, its cuisine, Michelin star restaurants, boutique hotels, luxury resorts ...
region, which also includes Napa, Mendocino, and Lake counties, Sonoma County is the largest producer. It has nineteen approved
American Viticultural Area
An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of winery, wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know abo ...
s and more than 350 wineries. The voters have twice approved open space initiatives that have provided funding for public acquisition of natural areas, preserving forested areas, coastal
habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
, and other open space. More than 8.4 million tourists visit each year, spending more than $1 billion in 2016.
Sonoma County is a leading producer of hops, grapes, prunes, and apples, as well as dairy and poultry products, largely due to the extent of available, fertile agricultural land in addition to the abundance of high-quality water for irrigation. Agriculture is largely divided between two nearly
monocultural uses:
grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...
s and pasturage.
History
The
Pomo
The Pomo are a Indigenous peoples of California, Native American people of California. Historical Pomo territory in Northern California was large, bordered by the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to ...
,
Coast Miwok
The Coast Miwok are an Indigenous people of California that were the second-largest tribe of the Miwok people. Coast Miwok inhabited the general area of present-day Marin County and southern Sonoma County in Northern California, from the Golde ...
and
Wappo
The Wappo (endonym: ''Micewal'') are an Indigenous people of northern California. Their traditional homelands are in Napa Valley, the south shore of Clear Lake, Alexander Valley, and Russian River valley. They are distantly related to the Yu ...
peoples were the earliest human settlers of Sonoma County, between 8000 and 5000 BC, effectively living within the natural carrying capacity of the land. Archaeological evidence of these First people includes a number of occurrences of
rock carvings, especially in southern Sonoma County; these carvings often take the form of
pecked curvilinear nucleated design.
Spaniards
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...
,
Russians
Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
, and other
Europeans
Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...
claimed and settled in the county from the late 16th to mid-19th century, seeking timber, fur, and farmland.
The Russians were the first newcomers to establish a permanent foothold in Sonoma County, with the
Russian-American Company
The Russian-American Company Under the High Patronage of His Imperial Majesty was a state-sponsored chartered company formed largely on the basis of the Shelikhov-Golikov Company, United American Company. Emperor Paul I of Russia chartered the c ...
establishing
Fort Ross
Fort Ross (, , Kashaya: ) is a former Russian establishment on the west coast of North America in what is now Sonoma County, California. Owned and operated by the Russian-American Company, it was the hub of the southernmost Russian settlemen ...
on the Sonoma Coast in 1812. This settlement and its outlying Russian settlements came to include a population of several hundred Russian and
Aleut
Aleuts ( ; (west) or (east) ) are the Indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleuts and the islands are politically divided between the US state of Alaska ...
settlers and a stockaded fort with artillery. However, the Russians abandoned it in 1841 and sold the fort to
John Sutter
John Augustus Sutter (February 23, 1803 – June 18, 1880), born Johann August Sutter and known in Spanish as Don Juan Sutter, was a Switzerland, Swiss immigrant who became a Mexican and later an American citizen, known for establishing Sutter ...
, settler and Mexican
land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...
ee of
Sacramento
Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
.
The
Mission San Francisco Solano
Mission San Francisco Solano was the 21st, last, and northernmost mission in Alta California. It was named for Saint Francis Solanus. It was the only mission built in Alta California after Mexico gained independence from Spain. The difficult ...
, founded in 1823 as the last and northernmost of 21
California missions
The Spanish missions in California () formed a series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in what is now the U.S. state of California. The missions were established by Catholic priests of the Franciscan ord ...
, is in the present
City of Sonoma, at the northern end of
El Camino Real.
El Presidio de Sonoma, or Sonoma Barracks (part of Spain's ''
Fourth Military District''), was established in 1836 by Comandante General
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (July 4, 1807 – January 18, 1890) was a Californio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of the Republic of Mexico, and shaped the tran ...
. His duties included keeping an eye on the Russian traders at Fort Ross, secularizing the Mission, maintaining cooperation with the Native Americans of the entire region, and doling out the lands for large estates and ranches. The City of Sonoma was the site of the
Bear Flag Revolt
The California Republic, or Bear Flag Republic, was an List of historical unrecognized states#Americas, unrecognized breakaway state from Second Federal Republic of Mexico, Mexico, that existed from June 14, 1846 to July 9, 1846. It milita ...
in 1846.
Sonoma was one of the original counties when California became a state in 1850, with its
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
originally the town (now city) of Sonoma. However, by the early 1850s, Sonoma had declined in importance in both commerce and population, its county buildings were crumbling, and it was relatively remote. As a result, elements in the newer, rapidly growing towns of
Petaluma
Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census.
Petaluma's name comes from the Miwok village named ''Péta ...
, Santa Rosa, and
Healdsburg
Healdsburg is a city located in Sonoma County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 11,340.
Healdsburg is centered on a 19th-century plaza.
History
Early inhabitants of the local area included the Pomo ...
began vying to move the county seat to their towns. The dispute ultimately was between the bigger, richer commercial town of Petaluma and the more centrally located, growing agricultural center of Santa Rosa. The fate was decided following an election for the state legislature in which James Bennett of Santa Rosa defeated
Joseph Hooker
Joseph Hooker (November 13, 1814 – October 31, 1879) was an American Civil War general for the Union, chiefly remembered for his decisive defeat by Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863.
Hooker had serv ...
of Sonoma and introduced a bill that resulted in Santa Rosa being confirmed as county seat in 1854. Allegedly, several Santa Rosans, not caring to wait, decided to take action and, one night, rode down the Sonoma Valley to Sonoma, took the county seals and records, and brought them to Santa Rosa. Some of the county's land was annexed from
Mendocino County
Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza") is a County (United States), county located on the North Coast (California), North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United S ...
between 1850 and 1860.
Early post-1847 settlement and development focused primarily on the city of Sonoma, then the region's sole town and a common transit and resting point in overland travel between the region and Sacramento and the gold fields to the east. However, after 1850, a settlement that soon became the city of Petaluma began to grow naturally near the farthest navigable point inland up the
Petaluma River
The Petaluma River is a river in the California counties of Sonoma and Marin that becomes a tidal slough for most of its length. The headwaters are in the area southwest of Cotati. The flow is generally southward through Petaluma's old town, ...
. Originally a hunting camp used to obtain game to sell in other markets, by 1854 Petaluma had grown into a bustling center of trade, taking advantage of its position on the river near a region of highly productive agricultural land that was being settled. Soon, other inland towns, notably Santa Rosa and Healdsburg began to develop similarly due to their locations along riparian areas in prime agricultural flatland. However, their development initially lagged behind Petaluma which, until the arrival of railroads in the 1860s, remained the primary commercial, transit, and break-of-bulk point for people and goods in the region. After the arrival of the
San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad in 1870, Santa Rosa began to boom, soon equalling and then surpassing Petaluma as the region's population and commercial center. The railroad bypassed Petaluma for southern connections to
ferries of San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay in California has been served by ferry, ferries of all types for over 150 years. John Reed (Early Californian), John Reed established a sailboat ferry service in 1826. Although the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and the ...
.
Six nations have claimed Sonoma County from 1542 to the present:
Sonoma County was severely shaken by the
1906 San Francisco earthquake
At 05:12 AM Pacific Time Zone, Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated Moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli inte ...
. The displacements along the
fault averaged .
In October 2017, the county was greatly affected by the
Tubbs Fire
The Tubbs Fire was a wildfire in Northern California during October 2017. At the time, the Tubbs Fire was the most destructive wildfire in California history, burning parts of Napa County, California, Napa, Sonoma County, California, Sonoma, a ...
and the
Nuns Fire. In late October and early November 2019, the
Kincade Fire burned , almost all in Sonoma County. In August and September 2020, the Walbridge Fire burned in the western part of the county; then in September–October the Glass fire affected the city of Santa Rosa and ultimately destroying 1,000+ buildings The county also had a wildfire in the 1870s that is compared to the Hanley fire and Tubbs fire because they burned in the same path.
The Sonoma County Landmarks Commission recognizes nearly 200 formal
historical landmarks and the Sonoma County Historical Society counts 380 landmarks recognized by several agencies.
Etymology

According to the book ''California Place Names'', "The name of the Indian tribe is mentioned in baptismal records of 1815 as ''Chucuines'' or ''Sonomas'', by Chamisso in 1816 as ''Sonomi'', and repeatedly in Mission records of the following years."
According to the Coast Miwok and the Pomo tribes that lived in the region, Sonoma translates as "valley of the moon" or "many moons". Their legends detail this as a land where the moon nestled, hence the names
Sonoma Valley
Sonoma Valley is a valley located in southeastern Sonoma County, California, in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Known as the birthplace of the California wine industry, the valley is home to some of the earliest vineyards a ...
and the "Valley of the Moon."
This translation was first recorded in an 1850 report by General
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (July 4, 1807 – January 18, 1890) was a Californio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of the Republic of Mexico, and shaped the tran ...
to the California Legislature.
Jack London
John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...
popularized it in his 1913 novel ''
The Valley of the Moon''.
In the native languages there is also a constantly recurring ending ''tso-noma'', from ''tso'', the earth; and ''noma'', village; hence ''tsonoma'', "earth village." Other sources say Sonoma comes from the Patwin tribes west of the
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River () is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–San Joaquin River D ...
, and their
Wintu
The Wintu (also Northern Wintun) are Native Americans who live in what is now Northern California. They are part of a loose association of peoples known collectively as the Wintun (or Wintuan). There are three major groups that make up the Wi ...
word for "nose". Per ''California Place Names'', "the name is doubtless derived from a
Patwin
The Patwin (also Patween and Southern Wintu) are a band of Wintun people in Northern California. The Patwin comprise the southern branch of the Wintun group, native inhabitants of California since approximately 500.
Today, Patwin people are en ...
word for 'nose', which Padre Arroyo (Vocabularies, p. 22) gives as ''sonom'' (
Suisun)." Spaniards may have found an Indian chief with a prominent protuberance and applied the nickname of ''Chief Nose'' to the village and the territory. The name may have applied originally to a nose-shaped geographic feature.
Jesse Sawyer argues that it is from Wappo ''tso-noma'', meaning "redwood place."
Geography

According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
, the county has an area of , of which is land and (10.9%) is water.
The county lies in the
North Coast Ranges
The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains.
Phy ...
of northwestern California. Its ranges include the
Mayacamas and the
Sonoma Mountains
The Sonoma Mountains are a northwest–southeast trending mountain range of the Inner Coast Ranges in the California Coast Ranges System, located in Sonoma County, Northern California.
Geography
The Sonoma Mountains range is approximately long ...
, the southern peak of the latter being the prominent landform
Sears Point. The highest peak in the Mayacamas within the county and the highest peak in the county is
Mt. Saint Helena. It has uncommon occurrences of
pygmy forest
A "natural National Park in the Philippines, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
file:Mount Kemiri (8187817161).jpg, An elfin forest in Sumatra's Gunung Leuser National Park
Dwarf forest, elfin forest, or pygmy forest is an uncommon ecosystem feat ...
, dominated by
Mendocino cypress. The highest peak of the Sonoma Mountains is
Sonoma Mountain
Sonoma Mountain ( Coast Miwok: ''Oona-pa'is'') is a prominent landform within the Sonoma Mountains of southern Sonoma County, California. At an elevation of , Sonoma Mountain offers expansive views of the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Sono ...
itself, which boasts two significant public access properties:
Jack London State Historic Park
Jack London State Historic Park, also known as Jack London Home and Ranch, is a California State Historic Park near Glen Ellen, California, United States, situated on the eastern slope of Sonoma Mountain. It includes the ruins of a house burn ...
and
Fairfield Osborn Preserve.
The county includes the City of Sonoma and the
Sonoma Valley
Sonoma Valley is a valley located in southeastern Sonoma County, California, in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Known as the birthplace of the California wine industry, the valley is home to some of the earliest vineyards a ...
, in which the City of Sonoma is located. However, these are not synonymous. The City of Sonoma is merely one of nine incorporated cities in the county. The Sonoma Valley is just the southeastern portion of the county, which includes many other valleys and geographic zones, including the Petaluma Valley, the
Santa Rosa Plains, the
Russian River, the
Alexander Valley
The Alexander Valley (Wappo language, Wappo: Unutsawaholmanoma, "Toyon Bush Berry Place") is a Californian (wine), Californian American Viticultural Area (AVA) just north of Healdsburg, California, Healdsburg in Sonoma County (wine), Sonoma County ...
, and the
Dry Creek Valley.
Distinct habitat areas within the county include oak
woodland
A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...
,
redwood
Sequoioideae, commonly referred to as redwoods, is a subfamily of Pinophyta, coniferous trees within the family (biology), family Cupressaceae, that range in the Northern Hemisphere, northern hemisphere. It includes the List of superlative tree ...
forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
,
northern coastal scrub
Northern coastal scrub is a diverse scrubland plant community found along the Pacific Coast from Northern California to Southern Oregon, as well as some offshore islands. It frequently forms a landscape mosaic with California coastal prairie, coast ...
,
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...
,
marsh
In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...
land, oak
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
and
riparian woodland
A riparian forest or riparian woodland is a forested or wooded area of land adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, pond, lake, marshland, estuary, canal, sink, or reservoir. Due to the broad nature of the definition, riparian woodla ...
. The
California oak woodland
California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico. Oak woodland is widespread at lower elevations in coast ...
in the upper
Yulupa Creek and
Spring Creek
A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground Spring (hydrology), spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring cree ...
watersheds in
Annadel State Park
Trione-Annadel State Park is a state park of California in the United States. It is situated at the northern edge of Sonoma Valley and is adjacent to Spring Lake Regional Park in Santa Rosa. It offers many recreational activities within its p ...
is a relatively undisturbed ecosystem with considerable
biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
. These forested areas have been characterized as some of the best examples of such woodlands. An unusual characteristic of these forests is the high content of undisturbed prehistoric
bunchgrass
Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennia ...
understory
In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the Canopy (biology), forest ca ...
, testifying to the absence of historic
grazing
In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to feed conversion ratio, convert the otherwise indigestible (by human diges ...
or other
agriculture
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
.
Trees of the oak woodland habitat include
Pacific madrone
''Arbutus menziesii'', or Pacific madrone (commonly madrone or madrona in the United States and arbutus in Canada), is a species of broadleaf evergreen tree in the family Ericaceae. It has waxy foliage, a contorted growth habit, and flaky bark ...
,
Douglas fir
The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Or ...
,
coast live oak
''Quercus agrifolia'', the California live oak, or coast live oak, is an evergreen live oak native to the California Floristic Province. Live oaks are so-called because they keep living leaves on the tree all year, adding young leaves and sheddi ...
,
Garry oak, and
California laurel. Common understory plants are
toyon
''Heteromeles arbutifolia'' (, more commonly by Californian botanists), commonly known as toyon, is a perennial shrub native to Coastal California. It is the sole species in the genus ''Heteromeles''.
Description
Toyon typically grows from , r ...
,
poison oak Poison oak refers to two plant species in the genus '' Toxicodendron,'' both of which can cause skin irritation:
*'' Toxicodendron diversilobum'' or Pacific poison oak, found in western North America
*'' Toxicodendron pubescens'' or Atlantic po ...
, and, at the fringes,
coast silk-tassel.
Climate

Sonoma County, as is often the case with coastal counties in California, has a great degree of climatic variation and numerous, often very different, microclimates.
Key determining factors for local climate are proximity to the ocean, elevation, and the presence and elevation of hills or mountains to the east and west. This is in large part due to the fact that, as throughout California, the prevailing weather systems and wind come normally from the Pacific Ocean, blowing in from the west and southwest, so that places closer to the ocean and on the windward side of higher elevations tend to receive more rain from autumn through spring and more summer wind and fog. This itself is partly a result of the presence of high and low pressures in inland California, with persistent high summer temperatures in the
Central Valley, in particular, leading to low pressures, drawing in moist air from the Pacific, cooling into damp cool breezes and fog over the cold coastal water. Those places further inland and particularly in the lee of significant elevations tend to receive less rain and less, in some cases no, fog in the summer.
The coast itself is typically cool and moist throughout summer, often foggy, with fog generally blowing in during the late afternoon and evening until it clears in the later morning becoming sunny, before repeating. Coastal summer highs are typically in the mid to high 60s, warming to the low 70s further from the ocean.
Certain inland areas, including the Petaluma area and the Santa Rosa Plain, are also prone to this normal fog pattern in general.
However, they tend to receive the fog later in the evening, the fog tends to be more short-lived, and mid-day temperatures are significantly higher than they are on the coast, typically in the low 80s F. This is particularly true for Petaluma,
Cotati, and
Rohnert Park
Rohnert Park is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located approximately north of San Francisco. The population at the 2020 United States census was 44,390. It is an early planned city and is the sister city of Hashimoto in ...
, and, only slightly less so, Santa Rosa,
Windsor, and
Sebastopol. In large part, this results from lower elevations and the prominent
Petaluma Gap in the hills between the ocean to the west and the Petaluma Valley and Santa Rosa Plain to the east.
Areas north of Santa Rosa and Windsor, with larger elevations to the west and further from the fog path, tend to receive less fog and less summer marine influence. Healdsburg, to the north of Windsor, is less foggy and much warmer, with summer highs typically in the higher 80s to about . Sonoma and the Sonoma Valley, east of Petaluma, are similar, with highs typically in the very high 70s F to . This is in part due to the presence of the Sonoma Mountains between Petaluma and Sonoma.
Cloverdale, far to the north and outside of the Santa Rosa Plain, is significantly hotter than any other city in the county, with rare evening-morning fog and highs often in the 90s, reaching much more frequently than the other cities. Notably, however, the temperature differences among the different areas of the county are greatest for the highs during mid-day, with the diurnal lows much more even throughout the entire county. The lows are closely tied to the evening-morning cooling marine influence, in addition to elevation, bringing similarly cool temperatures to much of region.
These weather patterns contribute to high diurnal temperature fluctuations in much of the county. In summer, daily lows and highs are typically 30–40 °F apart inland, with highs for Petaluma, Cotati, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Windsor, and Sebastopol typically being in the very low 80s F and lows at or near . Healdsburg and the City of Sonoma, with similar lows, have even greater diurnal fluctuations due to their significantly warmer highs. On the other hand, the coast, with strong marine influence, tends to have low diurnal temperature fluctuation, with summer highs much cooler than the inland towns, typically 65–75 °F, yet lows in the high 40s to low 50s F, fairly comparable to most inland towns.
These microclimates are evident during the rainy seasons as well, with great variation in the amount of rainfall throughout the county. Generally, all of Sonoma County receives a fair amount of rain, with much of the county receiving between about , comparable to areas such as Sonoma and Petaluma, and roughly normal for Santa Rosa. However, certain areas, particularly in the north-west portion of the county around the Russian River, receive significantly more rainfall. The
Guerneville area, for example, typically receives about of rain a year, with annual rain occasionally going as high as . Nearby Cazadero typically receives about of rain a year, many times has reached over a year, and sometimes over of rain in a year. The Cazadero region is the second wettest place in California after
Gasquet.
Snow is exceedingly rare in Sonoma County, except in the higher elevations on and around the
Mayacamas Mountains
The Mayacamas Mountains are located in northwestern California in the United States. The mountain range is part of the Northern Inner Coast Ranges, of the California Coast Ranges System.
Geography
The Mayacamas Mountains are located south of th ...
, particularly
Mount Saint Helena
Mount Saint Helena (Wappo: Kanamota, "Human Mountain") is a peak in the Mayacamas Mountains with flanks in Napa, Sonoma, and Lake counties of California. Composed of uplifted volcanic rocks from the Clear Lake Volcanic Field, it is one of the ...
, and
Cobb Mountain
Cobb Mountain is the tallest mountain in the Mayacamas Mountains of California.
Location
Cobb Mountain's main summit is located in Lake County, west of the town of Cobb. Like nearby Mount Saint Helena, Cobb Mountain is tall enough to receiv ...
, whose peak is in Lake County.
Ocean, bays, rivers and streams

Sonoma County is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, and has of coastline. The major coastal hydrographic features are
Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay () is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa, California, S ...
, the mouth of the Russian River, and the mouth of the
Gualala River, at the border with
Mendocino County
Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza") is a County (United States), county located on the North Coast (California), North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United S ...
. All of the county's beaches were listed as among the cleanest in the state in 2010.
Six of the county's nine cities, from Healdsburg south through Santa Rosa to Rohnert Park and Cotati, are in the Santa Rosa Plain. The northern Plain drains directly to the Russian River, or to a tributary; the southern Plain drains to the Russian River via the
Laguna de Santa Rosa
The Laguna de Santa Rosa is a wetland complex that drains a watershed encompassing most of the Santa Rosa Plain in Sonoma County, California, United States.
The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has issued a safe ...
.
Russian River

Much of central and northern Sonoma County is in the watershed of the Russian River and its tributaries. The river rises in the coastal mountains of Mendocino County, north of the city of
Ukiah, and flows into
Lake Mendocino, a major flood control reservoir. The river flows south from the lake through Mendocino to Sonoma County, paralleled by Highway 101. It turns west at Healdsburg, receiving water from
Lake Sonoma via
Dry Creek, and empties into the Pacific Ocean at
Jenner.
Laguna de Santa Rosa
The Laguna de Santa Rosa is the largest tributary of the Russian River. It is long, running north from Cotati to the Russian River near Forestville. Its flood plain is more than . It drains a watershed, including most of the Santa Rosa Plain.
The Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation says:
The Laguna de Santa Rosa is Sonoma County's richest area of wildlife habitat, and the most biologically diverse region of Sonoma County (itself the second-most biologically diverse county in California)... It is a unique ecological system covering more than and a mosaic of creeks, open water, perennial marshes, seasonal wetlands, riparian forests, oak woodlands, and grasslands... As the receiving water of a watershed where most of the county's human population lives, it is a landscape feature of critical importance to Sonoma County's water quality, flood control, and biodiversity.
The Laguna's largest tributary is
Santa Rosa Creek, which runs through Santa Rosa. Its major tributaries are
Brush Creek, Mark West Creek,
Matanzas Creek,
Spring Creek
A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground Spring (hydrology), spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring cree ...
, and
Piner Creek. Santa Rosa Creek was shown to be polluted in Sonoma county first flush results.
Other water bodies
The boundary with
Marin County
Marin County ( ) is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is ac ...
runs from the mouth of the
Estero Americano at
Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay () is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa, California, S ...
, up Americano Creek, then overland to
San Antonio Creek and down the Petaluma River to its mouth at the northwest corner of
San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of the San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California.
Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep wate ...
, which adjoins
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...
. The southern edge of Sonoma County comprises the northern shore of San Pablo Bay between the Marin County border at the Petaluma River and the border with Solano County at
Sonoma Creek
Sonoma Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 10, 2011 stream in northern California. It is one of two principal drainages of southern Sonoma County, Californi ...
. Sonoma County has no incorporated communities directly on the shore of San Pablo Bay.
The Petaluma River,
Tolay Creek, and Sonoma Creek enter the bay at the county's southernmost tip. The intertidal zone where they join the bay is the vast
Napa Sonoma Marsh.
Americano Creek
Americano Creek is a long westward-flowing stream in the California counties of Sonoma and Marin. It flows into the Estero Americano, a long estuary, and thence to the Pacific Ocean. This article covers both watercourses.
Course
Americano ...
, the Petaluma River, Tolay Creek, and Sonoma Creek are the principal streams draining the southern portion of the county. The Sonoma Valley is drained by Sonoma Creek, whose major tributaries are
Yulupa Creek,
Graham Creek,
Calabazas Creek, Schell Creek, and
Carriger Creek;
Arroyo Seco Creek is a tributary to Schell Creek. Other creeks include Foss, Felta, and Mill.
Lakes and reservoirs in the county include Lake Sonoma,
Tolay Lake,
Lake Ilsanjo,
Santa Rosa Creek Reservoir,
Lake Ralphine
Lake Ralphine is a reservoir in Howarth Memorial Park in the city of Santa Rosa, in the U.S. state of California.
Fishing
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife stocks the lake annually with trout of catchable size. Other fishes found ...
, and
Fountaingrove Lake.
Marine protected areas
Like underwater parks, these
marine protected area
A marine protected area (MPA) is a protected area of the world's seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity ...
s help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems.
*
Del Mar Landing State Marine Reserve
*
Stewarts Point State Marine Reserve & Stewarts Point State Marine Conservation Area
*
Salt Point State Marine Conservation Area
*
Gerstle Cove State Marine Reserve
*
Russian River State Marine Reserve and Russian River State Marine Conservation Area
*
Bodega Head State Marine Reserve & Bodega Head State Marine Conservation Area
*
Estero Americano State Marine Recreational Management Area
Threatened/endangered species
A number of endangered plants and animals are found in Sonoma County, including the
California clapper rail (''Rallus longirostris obsoletus''),
salt marsh harvest mouse
The salt-marsh harvest mouse (''Reithrodontomys raviventris''), also known as the red-bellied harvest mouse, is an endangered rodent endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area salt marshes in California.
Taxonomy
The two distinct subspecies are both ...
(''Reithrodontomys raviventris''),
northern red-legged frog (''Rana aurora''),
Sacramento splittail (''Pogonichthys macrolepidotus''), California freshwater shrimp (''
Syncaris pacifica''), showy Indian clover (''
Trifolium amoenum
''Trifolium amoenum'', known by the common names showy Indian clover and two-fork clover, is endemic to California, and is an endangered annual herb that subsists in grassland areas of the San Francisco Bay Area and the northern California Coast ...
''), Hickman's potentilla (''
Potentilla hickmanii''), ''
northern spotted owl
The northern spotted owl (''Strix occidentalis caurina'') is one of three spotted owl subspecies. A western North American bird in the family Strigidae, genus ''Strix (genus), Strix'', it is a medium-sized dark brown owl native to the Pacific N ...
'' (Strix occidentalis caurina), and ''
marbled murrelet
The marbled murrelet (''Brachyramphus marmoratus'') is a small seabird from the North Pacific. It is a member of the family Alcidae, which includes auklets, guillemots, murres and puffins. It nests in old-growth forests or on the ground at hig ...
'' (Brachyramphus marmoratus).
Species of special local concern include the
California tiger salamander
The California tiger salamander (''Ambystoma californiense'') is a vulnerable amphibian native to California. It is a mole salamander. Previously considered to be a subspecies of the tiger salamander (''A. tigrinum)'', the California tiger sala ...
(''Ambystoma californiense''),
coho salmon
The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family (biology), family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon (or "silvers") and is often ...
, and some endangered plants, including Burke's goldfields (''
Lasthenia burkei''), Sebastopol meadowfoam (''
Limnanthes vinculans
''Limnanthes vinculans'', the Sebastopol meadowfoam, is an endangered species of meadowfoam found only in the Laguna de Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, California, United States and an area slightly to the south in the Americano Creek and Washoe C ...
''), and Sonoma sunshine or Baker's stickyseed (''
Blennosperma bakeri'').
Endangered species that are
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to Sonoma County include Sebastopol meadowfoam, Sonoma sunshine, and Pitkin Marsh lily (
''Lilium pardalinum'' subsp. ''pitkinense'').
The
Sonoma County Water Agency has had a Fisheries Enhancement Program since 1996. Its website says:
"The primary focus of the FEP is to enhance habitat for three salmonid
Salmonidae (, ) is a family of ray-finned fish, the only extant member of the suborder Salmonoidei, consisting of 11 extant genera and over 200 species collectively known as "salmonids" or "salmonoids". The family includes salmon (both Atlantic a ...
s: Steelhead
Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the Fish migration#Classification, anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or Columbia River redband trout (''O. m. gairdneri'', also called redband steelhead). Steelhead are native to cold-wa ...
, Chinook salmon
The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Oncorhynchus, Pacific salmon. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other vernacular names for the species include king salmon, quinn ...
, and Coho salmon
The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family (biology), family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon (or "silvers") and is often ...
. These three species are listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting and conserving imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of e ...
. The California Department of Fish and Game considers the Coho salmon endangered."
Adjacent counties
*
Mendocino County, California
Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza") is a County (United States), county located on the North Coast (California), North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United S ...
– north
*
Lake County, California
Lake County is a County (United States), county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 68,163. The county seat is Lakeport, California, Lakepor ...
– northeast
*
Napa County, California
Napa County () is a County (United States), county north of San Pablo Bay located in the Northern California, northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 138,019. The county seat i ...
– east
*
Solano County, California
Solano County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 453,491. The county seat is Fairfield, California, Fairfield.
Solano County comp ...
– southeast
*
Marin County, California
Marin County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat a ...
– south
*
Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County (; ''Contra Costa'', Spanish for 'Opposite Coast') is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,165,927. Th ...
– south-southeast
National protected area
*
San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Transportation
Major highways
U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...
U.S. Route 101 is the westernmost
Federal highway in the U.S.A. Running north/south through the states of California,
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
, and Washington, it generally parallels the coastline from Downtown Los Angeles to the
Canada–US border. Highway 101 links seven of the county's nine incorporated cities: Cloverdale, Healdsburg, Windsor, Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Cotati, and Petaluma. It is a freeway for its entire length within the county.
The four-lane sections of the highway have been heavily congested during peak commute hours for many years and work is being done to widen part of the highway to six lanes. The segment from north of Petaluma (at Old Redwood Highway/Petaluma Boulevard North exit) to Windsor has been fully widened, as has the segment from the Petaluma River bridge to the Marin County border. The two new inner lanes are designated for
vehicles with two or more occupants during commute hours. Work is being done around Petaluma to finish the widening within Sonoma County; the widening also involves upgrading the highway to
full freeway standards.
State Route 1
Within Sonoma County, Highway 1 follows the coastline from the Mendocino County border, at the mouth of the Gualala River, to the Marin County border, at the Estero Americano (
Americano Creek
Americano Creek is a long westward-flowing stream in the California counties of Sonoma and Marin. It flows into the Estero Americano, a long estuary, and thence to the Pacific Ocean. This article covers both watercourses.
Course
Americano ...
), southeast of Bodega Bay.
State Route 12

Highway 12 runs eastward from its intersection with Highway 116 in Sebastopol to Santa Rosa. There it turns south through the Valley of the Moon to Sonoma, then east into Napa County. The four-lane freeway section within Santa Rosa, between Fulton Road and Farmers Lane, is called the Luther Burbank Memorial Highway. That section, especially where it crosses Highway 101, is severely congested during peak commute hours.
The two-lane Bodega Highway runs west from the intersection of Highways 12 and 116 in Sebastopol, through the coastal hills to its intersection with Highway 1, east of Bodega Bay. East of Santa Rosa, Highway 12 is also called Sonoma Highway; and east of the City of Sonoma, Carneros Highway.
State Route 37
Highway 37 connects Highway 101 at Novato, in Marin County, with Interstate 80 in Vallejo, in Solano County, at the top of San Pablo Bay. Within Sonoma County, it is also called Sears Point Road.
State Route 116
Highway 116 is a winding, two-lane rural route that runs from Jenner, at the mouth of the Russian River on the coast, southeast to Arnold Drive near Sonoma. It is also called "Pocket Canyon" between Guerneville and Forestville; Gravenstein Highway North, between Forestville and Sebastopol; and Gravenstein Highway South, between Sebastopol and Stony Point Road, west of Rohnert Park. East of Petaluma it is called Lakeville Highway, then Stage Gulch Road.
State Route 121
Highway 121 is a two-lane rural route running from Highway 37 near Sears Point Raceway to Highway 128 in
Lake Berryessa
Lake Berryessa is the largest lake in Napa County, California, United States. This reservoir in the Vaca Mountains was formed following the construction of the Monticello Dam on Putah Creek in the 1950s. Since the early 1960s, this reservoir h ...
, in Napa County.
State Route 128
The northernmost section of Highway 128 is a two-lane, rural route running southeast from Highway 101 at Geyserville, north of Healdsburg, through the Alexander Valley and into Napa County.
Public transportation
*
Sonoma County Transit
Sonoma County Transit is a public transportation system based in Sonoma County, California.
Routes
* Routes indicated with a serve the Santa Rosa Transit Mall.
* Routes indicated with a gold background and the word "free" will be fare free ind ...
is the countywide transit operator, providing service to all cities in Sonoma County.
*CityBus operates within the city limits of Santa Rosa.
*The cities of Cloverdale and Petaluma also provide their own local bus service.
*
Golden Gate Transit
Golden Gate Transit (GGT) is a public transportation system serving the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in California, United States. It primarily serves Marin County, Sonoma County, and San Francisco, and also provides limited ser ...
connects Santa Rosa and points south with Marin County and San Francisco.
*
Mendocino Transit Authority runs north from Santa Rosa to Ukiah (via US 101) and to the coast (via California Routes 12 and 1).
*
Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit
Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) is a commuter rail service and bicycle-pedestrian pathway project in Sonoma and Marin counties of the U.S. state of California. When completed, the entire system will serve a corridor between Clover ...
(SMART) is a
commuter rail
Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...
line eventually planned to go between
Larkspur in Marin County and Cloverdale in Sonoma County. , the line operates between Larkspur and Windsor.
Airports
The
Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport is at 2290 Airport Boulevard, west of Highway 101, between Santa Rosa and Windsor. Its main runway is long and wide, and can accommodate planes up to maximum gross takeoff weight. It offers fuel, major maintenance,
hangar
A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
space, and tie-downs for local and transient
aircraft
An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...
.
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the fifth-largest airline in North America when measured by scheduled passengers carried, as of 2024. Alaska, togethe ...
,
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
, and
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...
offer regular daily commercial flights.
There are five
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
airports within the county:
*
Cloverdale Municipal Airport
*
Healdsburg Municipal Airport
*
Petaluma Municipal Airport
*
Sonoma Skypark
*
Sonoma Valley Airport
Railroads

In 1864, the Petaluma and Haystack Railroad connected the city of Petaluma to a
ferry
A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...
landing at the head of navigation on the Petaluma River.
In 1870, the
San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad (SF&NP) connected the City of Santa Rosa to ferry connections at Donahue landing on the Petaluma River. Rail service was extended north to Healdsburg in 1871 and Cloverdale in 1872. In 1884 the railroad was extended south to an alternate ferry connection in
Tiburon. This rail line serves as the primary route of Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit.
The
3-foot-gauge North Pacific Coast Railroad
The North Pacific Coast Railroad (NPC) was a common carrier narrow-gauge steam railroad begun in 1874 and sold in 1902 to new owners who renamed it the North Shore Railroad (California) (NSR) and rebuilt the southern section into a standard-ga ...
extended northward in 1876 from a ferry connection at Sausalito through Valley Ford, Freestone, and Occidental to Monte Rio on the lower Russian River. Service was extended to Duncans Mills in 1877 and Cazadero in 1885. The
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
Fulton and Guerneville Railroad left the SF&NP at Fulton to reach
Korbel in 1876 and Guerneville in 1877. Standard-gauge rails were extended down-river to
Duncan Mills in 1909 after the
Northwestern Pacific Railroad
The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a mainline railroad from the former ferry connections in Sausalito, California north to Eureka, with a connection to the national railroad system at Schellville. The railroad has gone through a complex h ...
merger, and narrow-gauge service was discontinued in 1930. The standard-gauge route became River Road after tracks were removed in 1935.
The unique Sonoma Valley Prismoidal Railway linked the city of Sonoma to bay ferries in 1876 and was replaced in 1879 by the -gauge Sonoma Valley Railroad to a ferry landing near the mouth of the Petaluma River. Service was extended from Sonoma to
Glen Ellen in 1882. The southern end of the line was extended westward in 1888 to a connection with the SF&NP at
Ignacio
Ignacio is a male Spanish language, Spanish name originating in the Latin name "Ignatius" from ''ignis'' "fire". This was the name of several saints, including the Ignatius of Antioch, third bishop of Antioch (who was thrown to wild beasts by emp ...
. This line was converted to standard-gauge in 1890 and remains (in 2018) as Sonoma County's connection to the national rail system at
Schellville.
Southern Pacific
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...
subsidiary
Santa Rosa and Carquinez Railroad extended eastward in 1888 to link Santa Rosa with the national rail system. The portion between Sonoma and Santa Rosa was dismantled in the 1940s after interchange shifted to the former Sonoma Valley line.
A SF&NP branch line from Santa Rosa brought rail service to Sebastopol in 1890. The
Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad extended
interurban
The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...
service north from a ferry connection in Petaluma to reach Sebastopol in 1904, Santa Rosa in 1905, and Forestville in 1906. Portions of this line were converted to the
Joe Rodota Trail after tracks were removed in the 1980s.
The
Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit
Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) is a commuter rail service and bicycle-pedestrian pathway project in Sonoma and Marin counties of the U.S. state of California. When completed, the entire system will serve a corridor between Clover ...
commuter rail
Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...
line inaugurated passenger service on August 25, 2017,
utilizing the Northwestern Pacific Railroad
right-of-way from
Sonoma County Airport station to
Larkspur Landing
Larkspur Landing, also known as Larkspur Ferry Terminal, is the main Golden Gate Ferry Landing (water transport), terminal in Larkspur, California, in Marin County, California, Marin County, north of San Francisco. The terminal is a regional hub ...
in Marin. The system is planned to extend to
Cloverdale Depot.
Crime
The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense in the year of 2009.
Cities by population and crime rates
Demographics
2020 census
2011
Places by population, race, and income
2010 census
The
2010 United States census reported that Sonoma County had a population of 483,878. The racial makeup of Sonoma County was 371,412 (76.8%)
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 7,610 (1.6%)
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 6,489 (1.3%)
Native American, 18,341 (3.8%)
Asian, 1,558 (0.3%)
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 56,966 (11.8%) from
other races, and 21,502 (4.4%) from two or more races. There were 120,430 residents of
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino ancestry, of any race (24.9%).
2000
At the
2000 United States census,
there were 458,614 people, 172,403 households, and 112,406 families in Sonoma County. The population density was . There were 183,153 housing units at an average density of .
Of the 172,403 households, 50.3% were married couples living together, 34.8% were non-families, and 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present. 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.7% were individuals, and 10.0% were 65 years of age or older living alone. The average household size was 2.60, and the average family size was 3.12.
The median age was 38 years. 24.5% were under 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94 males.
The median household income was $53,076, and the median family income was $61,921. Males had a median income of $42,035, females $32,022. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the county was $25,724. About 4.7% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 8.4% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.
Metropolitan statistical area
The
United States Office of Management and Budget
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...
has designated Sonoma County as the Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA metropolitan statistical area.
The
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
ranked the Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as the
105th most populous metropolitan statistical area of the United States as of July 1, 2012.
The Office of Management and Budget has further designated the Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA metropolitan statistical area as a component of the more extensive
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
,
[ the 5th most populous combined statistical area and ]primary statistical area
The United States federal government defines and delineates the nation's metropolitan areas for statistical purposes, using a set of standard statistical area definitions. the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defined and delineated 393 ...
of the United States as of July 1, 2012.
Government
Sonoma County's governing board and legislative body is the five-member Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. Supervisors are elected by district at the Consolidated Primary Election, and serve for four years. The Supervisors also sit as directors of several local jurisdictions, such as Sonoma Water, and the Agricultural Preservation & Open Space District.
The current supervisors (as of January 2021) are:
* District 1: Susan Gorin,
* District 2: David Rabbitt,
* District 3: Chris Coursey,
* District 4: James Gore, and
* District 5: Lynda Hopkins.
The Supervisors appoint the members of 59 boards, commissions, and committees.
The County Administrator is the county's chief executive officer, reporting to the Board of Supervisors. The administrator manages the county's departments, such as the regional parks department.
On December 15, 2009, the Board announced the appointment of Veronica Ferguson to be the first woman County Administrator. She assumed office on February 1, 2010.
On May 1, 2014, the county launched a public utility
A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and ...
named Sonoma Clean Power. This utility was created under the guidelines of Community Choice Aggregation.
State and federal representation
Sonoma County is split between California's 2nd
A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI).
Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to:
Mathematics
* 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'')
* Minute and second of arc, ...
and 4th
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama
...
congressional districts, represented by and , respectively.
In the California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...
, Sonoma County is split between the 2nd
A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI).
Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to:
Mathematics
* 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'')
* Minute and second of arc, ...
, 4th
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama
...
, and 10th districts, which are held by , , and , respectively. In the California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
...
, the county is split between , and .
Law enforcement
The Sonoma County Sheriff's Department is the law enforcement agency for the unincorporated area of the county. It also contracts to provide the police forces of the City of Sonoma and the Town of Windsor. The department has more than 1,000 employees, including more than 275 Deputy Sheriffs, in four bureaus. More than 300 Correctional Officers and staff work in two jail facilities; Main Area Detention Facility and the North County Detention Facility, with a total daily population of nearly 1,200 inmates. Police shootings in 2007 led to calls for an independent civilian police review board; which was established in 2015.
Incidents
2015 "Yard Counseling" torture incident
In 2015, news broke of systematic torture by the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office. One victim suffered from internal bleeding, and was subsequently denied medical care for several days. Numerous victims claim that they were inflicted with various forms of head and brain trauma and sustained brain injury.
Allegations of sexual misconduct by public officials
Dominic Foppoli was a mayor of Windsor, and on the town council. He was accused of rape or sexual assault by 14 different women. Accusations include the use of date rape drugs, alcohol, violence, and manipulation.
Robert Jacob was the mayor of Sebastopol, and was convicted of child sexual abuse.
Economy
Agriculture has long played a critical role in Sonoma County's economy, and it makes up a major component of California's Wine Country
Wine Country is a region of California, in the northern San Francisco Bay Area, known worldwide as a premier wine-growing region. The region is famed for its wineries, its cuisine, Michelin star restaurants, boutique hotels, luxury resorts ...
. Just over 2% of the population works in agriculture, nearly twice the state average. Similar to other regions of the state, the county's mild climate and fertile soil allow for the cultivation of a wide variety of crops, ornamentals, and for the raising of livestock. Beyond the production of grapes, the county's agricultural heartland is primarily located in the west and southwest, and near the cities of Petaluma
Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census.
Petaluma's name comes from the Miwok village named ''Péta ...
and Sebastopol. The renowned horticulturalist Luther Burbank
Luther Burbank (March 7, 1849 – April 11, 1926) was an American botanist, horticulturist, and pioneer in agricultural science who developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants over his 55-year career. Burbank primarily worked with ...
, who created hundreds of new varieties of plants and crops, lived and worked in Sonoma County for much of his life.
Winemaking in the county is by far its most valuable industry and a major part of the economic and cultural life. First established in 1850 by a Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
priest named Fr. Jose Altimira of the Mission San Francisco Solano
Mission San Francisco Solano was the 21st, last, and northernmost mission in Alta California. It was named for Saint Francis Solanus. It was the only mission built in Alta California after Mexico gained independence from Spain. The difficult ...
, the production of wine has perhaps become Sonoma County's most well known feature. In 2004, growers harvested s) of wine grapes worth US$310 million. In 2006 the Sonoma County grape harvest amounted to over 185,000 tons, exceeding Napa County
Napa County () is a County (United States), county north of San Pablo Bay located in the Northern California, northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 138,019. The county seat i ...
's harvest by more than 30 percent. About 80 percent of non-pasture agricultural land in the county is for growing wine grapes— in 2014 of vineyard
A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...
s, with over 1100 growers. In 2019 Sonoma County's wine industry had produced over $654,000,000 worth of wine grapes. The most common varieties planted are Chardonnay
Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...
, Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon blanc () is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the city of Bordeaux in France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an ind ...
, Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...
, and Pinot noir
Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...
, though the area is also known for its Merlot
Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...
and Zinfandel
Zinfandel (also known as Primitivo) is a variety of black-skinned wine grape. The variety is grown in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA analysis has revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grapes Crljenak Kašt ...
. Sonoma County is home to more than 425 wineries with sixteen distinct and two shared American Viticultural Area
An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of winery, wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know abo ...
s, including the Sonoma Valley AVA
The Sonoma Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area in Sonoma County, California which centers on the Sonoma Valley in the southern portion of the county. The name 'Sonoma' means 'Valley of the Moon' in the local Native American dialect. The ...
, Russian River Valley AVA, Alexander Valley AVA, Bennett Valley AVA
The Bennett Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, California. The boundaries of this appellation lie completely within the North Coast AVA, almost completely within the Sonoma Valley A ...
and Dry Creek Valley AVA
Dry Creek Valley is an American Viticultural Area, American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Sonoma County, California, located northwest of the town of Healdsburg, California, Healdsburg. It was established on August 3, 1983 by the Bureau of Alcohol ...
, the last of which is known for the production of high-quality Zinfandel
Zinfandel (also known as Primitivo) is a variety of black-skinned wine grape. The variety is grown in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA analysis has revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grapes Crljenak Kašt ...
s.
Dairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...
is another major agricultural sector, particularly prominent in the western reaches of the county and in the Petaluma Gap. Worth nearly $140,000,000 in 2019, Sonoma County is home to nearly 65 registered dairies, including the locally prominent Clover Sonoma and the Straus Family Creamery. In addition to milk, the county is home to producers of cheese and yogurt. It was reported that in 2018, just over half of all of the county's dairies were certified as organic.
Poultry farming
Poultry farming is the form of animal husbandry which raises domesticated birds such as chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese to produce meat or eggs for food. Poultry – mostly chickens – are farmed in great numbers. More than 60 billion c ...
and other livestock can be found throughout the county, but is particularly prominent near the city of Petaluma
Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census.
Petaluma's name comes from the Miwok village named ''Péta ...
. The raising of chickens (for eggs and as broilers), cattle, sheep, and to a lesser extent hogs comprised a $250,000,000 industry in 2019.
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
and Crabbing was worth just over $9,300,000 in 2019 and is primarily concentrated on Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay () is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa, California, S ...
. Although numerous species are fished and farmed, the most prominent include Dungeness crab
The Dungeness crab (''Metacarcinus magister'') makes up one of the most important seafood industries along the west coast of North America. Its typical range extends from Alaska's Aleutian Islands to Point Conception, near Santa Barbara, Califo ...
and Chinook salmon
The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Oncorhynchus, Pacific salmon. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other vernacular names for the species include king salmon, quinn ...
.
Behind grapes, apples are the second most common crop grown in Sonoma County, particularly near the city of Sebastopol, and is an industry worth nearly $2,000,000. Although several varieties are grown, the region is most well known for its renowned Gravenstein apples. The county is also home to farms producing olives, hay, rye, oats, and various vegetables (particularly tomatoes, carrots, green beans, and celery). There are also numerous nurseries producing flowers and other decorative ornamentals.
The Timber Industry
Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
is not as prominent as it once was and is concentrated along the western and northwestern coastlines. The most common trees that are logged are Redwoods
Sequoioideae, commonly referred to as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family Cupressaceae, that range in the northern hemisphere. It includes the largest and tallest trees in the world. The trees in the subfamily are a ...
, as well as various Pines and Oaks.
Similar to other Bay Area communities, Sonoma County is also home to several prominent players in the Tech Industry, such as Keysight
Keysight Technologies, Inc. is an American company that manufactures electronics test and measurement equipment and software. The name is a blend of ''key'' and ''insight''. The company was formed as a spin-off of Agilent Technologies, which inhe ...
(formerly a part of Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies, Inc. is an American global company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, that provides instruments, software, services, and consumables for laboratories. Agilent was established in 1999 as a spin-off from Hewlett-Packar ...
) in Santa Rosa. Sonoma County is home to several notable brewing and beverage companies including: Bear Republic Brewing Company, Guayakí, Lagunitas Brewing Company
The Lagunitas Brewing Company, founded in 1993 in Petaluma, California, is a subsidiary of Heineken International. Before Heineken bought a 50% share of the company in 2015, the company met the definition of a craft brewery. Two years prior it ...
, and the Russian River Brewing Company. The clothing manufacturer Marmot
Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus ''Marmota'', with 15 species living in Asia, Europe, and North America. These herbivores are active during the summer, when they can often be found in groups, but are not seen during the winter, w ...
is based in Rohnert Park
Rohnert Park is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located approximately north of San Francisco. The population at the 2020 United States census was 44,390. It is an early planned city and is the sister city of Hashimoto in ...
.
Politics
For most of the 20th century, Sonoma County was a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. From 1896 until 1988, the only Democrats to carry Sonoma were Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
in 1912, Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
in 1932 and 1936, and Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
in 1964.[Menendez, Albert J.; ''The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868–2004'', pp. 152–155 ] Like the rest of the Bay Area, it has since become a Democratic stronghold.
The last Republican to win a majority in the county was Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
in 1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, and the last Republican to represent a significant part of the county in Congress was Representative Donald H. Clausen
Donald Holst Clausen (April 27, 1923 – February 7, 2015) was an American businessman, World War II veteran, and politician who served ten terms as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from California from 1963 to 1983.
...
, who left office in January 1983.
On November 4, 2008, Sonoma County voted 66.4% against Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.
According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 2025, there are 314,218 registered voters in Sonoma County. Of those, 175,801 (55.9%) are registered Democratic, 58,460 (18.6%) are registered Republican, and 55,463 (17.7%) declined to state a political party. Every city, town, and the unincorporated areas of Sonoma County have more registered Democrats than Republicans.
Voter registration statistics
Cities by population and voter registration
Education
Higher education
* Empire College, Santa Rosa
*Golden Gate University
Golden Gate University (GGU or Golden Gate) is a private university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1901, GGU specializes in educating professionals through its schools of law, business, taxation, technology, accounting, ...
(Rohnert Park satellite of Walnut Creek Campus)
*Santa Rosa Junior College
Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) is a public community college in Santa Rosa, California with an additional campus in Petaluma and centers in surrounding Sonoma County. SRJC is governed by the Sonoma County Junior College District.
History
F ...
*Sonoma State University
Sonoma State University (SSU, Sonoma State, or Sonoma) is a public university in Sonoma County, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Sonoma State offers 92 bachelor's degree programs, 19 master's de ...
, Rohnert Park
*University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...
(Santa Rosa Campus)
K-12 schools
The educational system of Sonoma County is similar to that of other counties in California, with a large number of independent school districts.
School districts include:
Unified:
* Calistoga Joint Unified School District
* Cloverdale Unified School District
* Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District
* Geyserville Unified School District
* Healdsburg Unified School District - Includes areas zoned for PK-12 and areas zoned only for 7–12
* Shoreline Unified School District
* Sonoma Valley Unified School District
* Windsor Unified School District
Secondary:
* Petaluma Joint Union High School District
* Point Arena Joint Union High School District
* Santa Rosa City School District
* West Sonoma County Union High School District
Elementary:
* Alexander Valley Union School District
* Bellevue Union School District
* Bennett Valley Union Elementary School District
* Cinnabar Elementary School District
* Dunham Elementary School District
* Forestville Union Elementary School District
* Fort Ross Elementary School District
* Gravenstein Union Elementary School District
* Guerneville Elementary School District
* Harmony Union School District
* Horicon Elementary School District
* Kashia Elementary School District
* Kenwood Elementary School District
* Laguna Joint Elementary School District
* Liberty Elementary School District
* Mark West Union Elementary School District
* Monte Rio Union Elementary School District
* Montgomery Elementary School District
* Oak Grove Union Elementary School District
* Old Adobe Union Elementary School District
* Petaluma City Elementary School District
* Piner-Olivet Union Elementary School District
* Rincon Valley Union Elementary School District
* Roseland Public Schools
* Santa Rosa Elementary School District
* Sebastopol Union Elementary School District
* Twin Hills Union Elementary School District
* Two Rock Union Elementary School District
* Waugh Elementary School District
* West Side Union Elementary School District
* Wilmar Union Elementary School District
* Wright Elementary School District
Library system
The Sonoma County Library system offers a central library in downtown Santa Rosa plus 10 branch libraries and two rural stations. More than half of Sonoma County's residents have library cards and borrow more than 2.5 million items per year. The library's website and catalog]receive over 200,000 visits annually. Staff answer nearly half a million reference questions annually for individuals, businesses and government agencies. During a typical school year over 750 classes, more than half the county total, either visit a library or are visited by a children's librarian. The library operates an adult literacy program, and computer terminals are made available for free Internet access.
Museums
* Pacific Coast Air Museum
* Charles M. Schulz Museum, Santa Rosa
* Museum of Sonoma County, Santa Rosa
* Luther Burbank Home and Gardens, Santa Rosa
Places of interest
* Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve
* Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay () is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa, California, S ...
* Doran Regional Park
* Fort Ross
Fort Ross (, , Kashaya: ) is a former Russian establishment on the west coast of North America in what is now Sonoma County, California. Owned and operated by the Russian-American Company, it was the hub of the southernmost Russian settlemen ...
, former Russian fur trade outpost
* Grove of Old Trees
* Hood Mountain
Mount Hood, also known as Hood Mountain, is a mountain near the southeastern edge of Santa Rosa, California, at the northeast of the Sonoma Valley and attains a height of . The original name was Mount Wilikos, an Indian name meaning "willows. ...
Regional Park
A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government.
Definition
A regional park can be a special park distr ...
* Jack London State Historic Park
Jack London State Historic Park, also known as Jack London Home and Ranch, is a California State Historic Park near Glen Ellen, California, United States, situated on the eastern slope of Sonoma Mountain. It includes the ruins of a house burn ...
, author Jack London's ''Beauty Ranch'', in Glen Ellen
* Lake Sonoma
* Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
* Luther Burbank Home and Gardens
* Luther Burbank
Luther Burbank (March 7, 1849 – April 11, 1926) was an American botanist, horticulturist, and pioneer in agricultural science who developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants over his 55-year career. Burbank primarily worked with ...
Gold Ridge Experiment Farm
* Mission San Francisco Solano
Mission San Francisco Solano was the 21st, last, and northernmost mission in Alta California. It was named for Saint Francis Solanus. It was the only mission built in Alta California after Mexico gained independence from Spain. The difficult ...
, across from Sonoma Plaza
* Ocean Song
* Quarryhill Botanic Garden
* Rancho Petaluma Adobe
* Safari West
* The Sitting Room Library
* Sonoma Coast State Beach
Sonoma Coast State Park is a State of California property in Sonoma County consisting of public access use on lands adjoining the Pacific Ocean. This extent of beach runs from a coastal point about north of Jenner, California, Jenner and contin ...
, including Arched Rock Beach, Gleason Beach and Goat Rock Beach.
* Sonoma Raceway
Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway, Golden State International Raceway and Infineon Technologies, Infineon Raceway) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains of Sonoma County, Cal ...
* Sonoma TrainTown Railroad
* Spring Lake Regional Park
* Stillwater Cove
* Sugarloaf Ridge State Park
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is a state park in Northern California, United States. Located in the Mayacamas Mountains northeast of Kenwood, the park straddles the boundary between Sonoma and Napa counties. The park contains the Bald Mountain ...
* Tolay Lake Regional Park
Populated places
Cities
Sonoma County has nine incorporated municipalities.
Census-designated places
* Bloomfield
* Bodega
*Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay () is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa, California, S ...
* Boyes Hot Springs
* Carmet
* Cazadero
* El Verano
* Eldridge
* Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente
* Forestville
* Fulton
* Geyserville
* Glen Ellen
* Graton
* Guerneville
* Jenner
* Kenwood
* Larkfield-Wikiup
* Monte Rio
* Occidental
* Penngrove
* Roseland
* Salmon Creek
* Sea Ranch
* Sereno del Mar
*Sonoma State University
Sonoma State University (SSU, Sonoma State, or Sonoma) is a public university in Sonoma County, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Sonoma State offers 92 bachelor's degree programs, 19 master's de ...
* Temelec
* Timber Cove
* Valley Ford
Other unincorporated places
*Annapolis
Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
*Asti
Asti ( , ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 74,348 inhabitants (1–1–2021) located in the Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, about east of Turin, in the plain of the Tanaro, Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and ...
*Camp Meeker
Camp Meeker is an unincorporated community, Sonoma County, United States, located on the Bohemian Highway, between Occidental and Monte Rio. It has approximately 350 homes on properties ranging from a couple thousand square feet to many acres ...
* Carneros
* Duncans Mills
* Freestone
*The Geysers
The Geysers is the world's largest geothermal field, containing a complex of 18 geothermal power plants, drawing steam from more than 350 wells, located in the Mayacamas Mountains approximately north of San Francisco, California. Geysers produced ...
* Guernewood Park
*Hacienda
A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards ...
* Kellogg
* Korbel
* Lakeville
* Lytton
* Mark West
* Mark West Springs
* Mercuryville
*Mesa Grande
Sce:dagĭ Mu:val Va’aki (formerly known as Mesa Grande Cultural Park), in Mesa, Arizona, preserves a group of Hohokam structures constructed during the Classic Period. The ruins were occupied between AD 1100 and 1400 ( Pueblo II – Puebl ...
* Rio Nido
* Schellville
* Stewarts Point
*Two Rock
Two Rock (; archaic: Black Mountain; ' ()) is a mountain in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It is high and is the 382nd highest mountain in Ireland. It is the highest point of the group of hills in the Dublin Mountains which comprises Tw ...
* Venado
*Villa Grande
Villa Grande is a property on Bygdøy in Oslo, Norway. The main building is located on top of a hill, raised above the surrounding residential buildings.
History
The construction of the building began in 1917, designed by the architects Christi ...
* Vineburg
Former townships
At the time of its formation, the county comprised four civil township
A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States that is subordinate to a County (United States), county, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England town, Ne ...
s. It was restructured several times, and by 1880 was made up of 14 townships:
* Analy
* Bodega
* Cloverdale
* Knight's Valley
* Mendocino
* Ocean
* Petaluma
* Redwood
* Russian River
* Salt Point
* Santa Rosa
* Sonoma
* Vallejo
* Washington
Population ranking
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Sonoma County.
† ''county seat''
In popular culture
Film
Due to the varied scenery in Sonoma County and proximity to the city of San Francisco, a large number of movies have been filmed using venues within the county. Some of the earliest U.S. filmmaking occurred in Sonoma County, including ''Salomy Jane'' (1914) and one of Broncho Billy Anderson
Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson (born Maxwell Henry Aronson; March 21, 1880 – January 20, 1971) was an American actor, writer, film director, and film producer, who was the first star of the Western film genre. He was a founder and star ...
's 1915 Westerns.
Other films include the 1947 film '' The Farmer's Daughter'' (starring Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of '' The Philadelphia Story'' (1939) an ...
and Loretta Young
Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Awards ...
) as well as two Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...
films, ''Shadow of a Doubt
''Shadow of a Doubt'' is a 1943 American psychological thriller film noir directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten. Written by Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson, and Alma Reville, the film was nominated for an A ...
'' of 1943, filmed and set in Santa Rosa, and '' The Birds'' of 1963, filmed largely in Bodega Bay and Bodega. ''American Graffiti
''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat ...
'' was filmed largely in Petaluma.
Other films produced partially in Sonoma County include:
Other
''Bliss
BLISS is a system programming language developed at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) by W. A. Wulf, D. B. Russell, and A. N. Habermann around 1970. It was perhaps the best known system language until C debuted a few years later. Since then, C ...
'', the default computer wallpaper
A wallpaper or background (also known as a desktop background, desktop picture or desktop image on computers) is a digital image (photo, drawing etc.) used as a decorative background of a graphical user interface on the screen of a computer, smartp ...
of Microsoft's Windows XP
Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct successor to Windows 2000 for high-end and business users a ...
operating system, is a photograph of a green hill and blue sky with clouds in Sonoma County. Taken in 1996 by Charles O'Rear
Charles O'Rear (born November 26, 1941) is an American photographer and author, known for photographing ''Bliss'', the default wallpaper of Microsoft's Windows XP operating system, and for being a ''National Geographic'' photographer from 1971 ...
, it is the most viewed photo in the world. macOS Sonoma
macOS Sonoma (version 14) is the twentieth Software versioning, major release of macOS, Apple Inc., Apple's operating system for Mac (computer), Mac computers. The successor to macOS Ventura, it was announced at WWDC 2023 on June 5, 2023, and ...
was named after Sonoma County.
See also
* List of Sonoma County Regional Parks facilities
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
*
* Sonoma County Historic Landmarks and Districts
* Sonoma County Water Agency
* Sonoma Mountain Zen Center
Notes
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Volume one
Volume two
* Sonoma County Genealogical Society. Portraits of Early Sonoma County Settlers. Santa Rosa, California: Caiifornia Genealogical Society, 2016, ISBN 978-1-365-13126-4
External links
*
Sonoma.com
Sonoma Economic Development Board
Parks and Recreation in Sonoma County
Sonoma County Historical Society
North Bay Regional Collection
a
Sonoma State University Library
{{Authority control
1850 establishments in California
Populated places established in 1850
Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area
California counties